Even more than most operas, Frobisher makes a grand sweep through time and place. Its settings move from the far North to a cabin in northern Alberta to the palace of Queen Elizabeth I to dockside in London as one of the 16th century’s greatest explorers sets sail.
For Sue LePage, the designer behind Frobisher’s sets, costumes, and props, one of the opera’s biggest challenges lay in recreating the vast, open settings in the Arctic and northern Alberta, complete with towering pines, expanses of ice, and the glory of the Northern Lights.
“John Murrell is extraordinary in the scope of his vision,” LePage says. “The idea of designing for a large story in which nature plays a huge role is exciting. There are certain things I can’t do as a set designer – I hand those over to lighting and projections and effects. But to be dealing with that sense of scale is wonderful.”
Frobisher’s costumes are also complex. They include the finery of Queen Elizabeth I and her courtiers, the heavy cloaks of 16th century explorers on a polar expedition, and the chic attire of attendees at a 21st century film festival.
To finish the effects of this grand, natural world, the producers have enlisted the help of one of Canada’s top theatrical lighting designers, Harry Frehner. Experience with dance, theatre, and opera – including the lighting design for Filumena – have prepared Frehner for working on this scale. The production team will also work with the Seattle-based theatrical projection specialists Mode Studios, to create special effects including the aurora borealis, which plays such an important role in this opera.
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